Urgent: Turtle Race "Fundraiser" Needs Canceling

This is not really a race between turtles. In this very rare instance, that might actually be preferable. No, this race is between TEN THOUSAND PLASTIC turtles, dumped into Mustang Bayou, that flows into the Gulf of Mexico by a Texas SCHOOL, in the name of “fundraising”.

This is in spite of the fact that something like TWENTY MILLION TONS of plastiCRAP enter the world’s oceans each year, bringing a slow and agonizing death to more than a million seabirds (see above) and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles.

This massive plastic dump, organized by Alvin Independent School District in Southeast Texas, is due to take place on February 8. School officials claim they do their best to find all the plastic turtles again. But a single extra piece of deadly plasticrap is too much.

Please, act quickly! Write and urge Alvin Independent School District officials to replace this event with one that won’t pose a threat to animals or the environment. And please forward this alert far and wide!

We eat cows, pigs, chickens and fish, and we eat and drink dairy products (well, WE don’t but HUMANS do) . Each one the culmination of a short life of such misery that it should have been a lot shorter. We AR activists are very aware of this and protest it in our own country wherever we can — which is why I feel completely justified asking you ONCE AGAIN to protest against South Koreans eating (raising, transporting and killing) dogs and

cats as well. In Korea, there is the very significant difference that the killing is protracted due to the belief that prolonged suffering results in better-tasting food. I like to think THAT wouldn’t fly here, awful as our slaughterhouses are. So I want you to write to your government representative and ask them to urge South Korea to ban the consumption of dogs and cats. I am not telling you that will do the trick, but NOT writing one definitely won’t 🙂

Using the sample letter (courtesy of Koreandogs.org, which has a lot more info and other people to contact) below, put together one of your own, as a personalized letter is always better. A paper letter AND an email would be great.

Animal welfare organizations and animal lovers worldwide strongly feel that this unprecedented cruelty towards animals in South Korea can no longer be tolerated and it is the moral duty of our Government to intervene on our behalf. Our Government should urge the South Korean government to respect and enforce not just its own but also the Global Animal Protection Laws. We oppose this cruelty on ethical, health, environmental and moral grounds. The issue concerns all of us as citizens of the world because nations from around the world sacrificed their loved ones to protect the South Koreans in the Korean war of the 1950′s and even today we are still spending our hard-earned money to ensure their freedom and safety every year. It is unconscionable for our Government to ignore the huge, growing shock and outcry on social media sites worldwide about this barbaric practice. With the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea we feel that the timing is now perfect for worldwide pressure on South Korea!

South Korea is the World’s 14th largest economy, yet an estimated 2.5 million dogs and thousands of cats are brutally slaughtered and eaten as “health food” each year. Forced to endure deprivation and unimaginable torment from the moment they are born till the day they are slaughtered, dogs are imprisoned in cramped, rusty, raised cages all their lives with no protection from extreme weather and no water, exercise, companionship or medical care. Their eardrums are often burst to prevent them from barking! In broad daylight, often in the presence of other live dogs, they are electrocuted, hanged, beaten or burnt to death. People’s beloved pets are also lured and caught and end up as meat! This is a profit-driven, tax-free, unregulated industry that aggressively promotes the myth that eating a dog (especially the dog’s penis) enhances male virility and gives men energy! Koreans genuinely believe that the more the dogs suffer, the more the consumer will enjoy the health benefits and taste of the meat. Many dogs are sadistically made to experience extreme fear and suffering prior to death. Cats are frequently boiled alive to make tonics believed to treat rheumatism! The demand is so high in South Korea that 20% of the dog meat is now imported from China!

It is hard to believe that a nation such as South Korea, which is one of the major economic powers in the world and boasts one of the highest educational levels in the world, is still committing this type of barbaric and despicable brutality in this day and age! But for the millions of dogs and cats that are being slaughtered each year in South Korea’s markets, slaughterhouses, restaurants, dog farms and backyards, it is a tragic reality and a nightmare that they can’t escape from. If South Korea wants to join the civilized nations and be respected as a nation of conscience, they need to strengthen their animal protection laws and ban the dog- and cat meat consumption once and for all. This has been going on far too long and it’s time for the South Korean government to take moral leadership on behalf of their citizens. Not only does this protect the Korean animals from unimaginable suffering, but it will also further South Korea’s economic interest in the global business community. People of the world will not stop condemning South Korea’s cruelty towards their defenseless animals!

Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
We urge you as our Government to a take a strong stand on this and boycott the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics and the South Korean businesses until the South Korean government takes the necessary steps to ban this atrocity! As our Government who has been elected to listen to the voices of its people, we sincerely hope that you will not turn a blind eye on this tragic situation and use your power and position to urge South Korea to ban the dog- and cat meat consumption once and for all!

For more information on the South Korean Dog Meat Trade visit:www.koreandogs.org
Sincerely,

The Iditarod is a cruel event and mushers often beat dogs who won’t run, or who don’t run fast enough. Dogs are injured during their brutal training and end up with cracked ribs, broken jaws or skulls from mushers.

Thankfully Target and Fred Meyer ended their support for the Iditarod after they received protest emails. But the dogs still need your help.

For the dogs, the Iditarod dog sled race is a bottomless pit of suffering. Please end your organization’s support of this event. What happens to the dogs during the Iditarod includes death, paralysis, frostbite, bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral diseases, broken bones, torn muscles and tendons and sprains. Over 143 dogs have died in the race, including three who frozen to death in the brutal cold. For more facts, visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition website, http://helpsleddogs.org.

Iditarod mushers beat dogs who won’t run, or who don’t run fast enough. Dogs are beaten with shovels, bats, chains, two-by-fours or whatever else is handy. Dr, Jeanne Olson, who has been a veterinarian in Alaska since 1988, confirmed the brutality used by mushers training dogs for the Iditarod. She saw dogs with cracked ribs, broken jaws or skulls from mushers using two-by-fours for punishment. In an article published by the University of Alaska, Dr. Olson said, “There are mushers out there whose philosophy is…that if that dog acts up I will hit that dog to the point where it would rather die than do what it did, ’cause the next time it is gonna die.'”

Jim Welch says in his book Speed Mushing Manual, “Nagging a dog team is cruel and ineffective…A training device such as a whip is not cruel at all but is effective.” He also said, “It is a common training device in use among dog mushers…” Jon Saraceno wrote in his column in USA Today, “He [Colonel Tom Classen] confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving dogs to maintain their most advantageous racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens. Or dragging them to their death.”

Iditarod dog kennels are puppy mills. Mushers breed many dogs and routinely kill unwanted ones, including puppies. Mushers have drowned, shot, bludgeoned and dragged many dogs to death. For example, Iditarod musher Dave Olesen drowned a litter of newborn puppies. Another musher got rid of unwanted puppies by tying them in a bag and tossing the bag in a creek. Mushers even have a saying about not breeding dogs unless they can drown them: “Those who cannot drown should not breed.”

Veterinary care during the Iditarod is poor. In the 2012 race, one of Lance Mackey’s male dogs ripped out all of his 16 toenails trying to get to a female who was in heat. This type of broken toenail is extremely painful. Mackey, a four-time Iditarod winner, said he was too stubborn to leave this dog at a checkpoint and veterinarians allowed Mackey to continue to race him. Imagine the agony the dog was forced to endure.

Here’s another example: Veterinarians have allowed dogs with kennel cough to race in the Iditarod even though dogs with this disease should be kept warm and given lots of rest. Strenuous exercise can cause lung damage, pneumonia and even death. To make matters worse, kennel cough is a highly contagious disease that normally lasts from 10 to 21 days.

Lolita is a orca from the Puget Sound off the coast of Washington State, who was captured and stolen from her family four decades ago. You might remember her story from the documentary Blackfish and Lolita: Slave to Entertainment.

She’s been languishing in a tiny tank at the Miami Seaquariam. The Endangered Species Act protects members of the Southern Resident orca population, but Lolita has been excluded from being protected–until now.

Thanks to pressure from PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) made a decision that could free Lolita. The NMFS agreed that Lolita deserves the same protection as her wild family.

Even if Lolita cannot be truly wild and free, she deserves to live in peace without being forced to perform tricks for food. She hasn’t seen another orca in 30 years–a cruel situation for a social animal. A sea pen in the Puget Sound would give her space, natural sounds and sights, and the change to reconnect with her family.

Plus, Lolita’s mother is still alive! Reuniting the two would give Lolita a good chance at freedom.

Help now!

Please share your support for Lolita here. Let the government know you support their decision to include Lolita in her family’s ESA listing. Please tell them that her current conditions are causing her to suffer, and that you want her moved to a seaside sanctuary in her home waters under expert care.

Comments will be accepted until March 28th, but why wait? Add a brief note now–and help bring Lolita home!

After four days of bloody selection, separation and slaughter, with clips of what is going on in Taji being picked up by major news networks, with a charismatic albino baby illogically but fortuitously arousing everyone’s sympathy (I say this because hundreds of other babies suffer the same fate each year and no one has cared), with even the US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy condemning the massacre…we need to keep it up. Who knows, this may be the time we will look back on and say, that’s when it crumbled. Please write to the head of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and the Japanese PM (if you haven’t already, and if you have, too) and express your outrage:

Woodland Park Zoo has their hand out again for money from tax payers – in fact they’re listed first on the list to get money in the Parks Legacy Plan. The City needs to know that there are many of us who don’t want more funding to go to the zoo.

Here’s why:

The zoo already gets $6.6 million dollars annually–and the amount goes up every year. Last year Seattle taxpayers paid the zoo an additional $2 million for parking!

We do not consider this business a park.

No other park has admission.

No other park has a Board of Directors dedicated to fund raising.

The zoo could save $787,000.00 by closing the archaic and inadequate elephant exhibit by retiring the elephants to a sanctuary. They could also save the cost of fighting media and citizen criticism of the elephant program that has mounted to at least $480,000.00 over the past 7 years.

No other park has such public controversy associated with it’s operations. The zoo’s elephant program has been criticized by The Seattle Times, The Ron and Don Show (the #1 rated talk radio show), The Seattle PI, Crosscut, blogs, internationally renowned elephant experts and Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants.

Please go one of these meetings and give public comment or simply say why you’re there on the sign-in sheet. We’d like to your thoughts if you attend. Here are the dates and times of the meetings:

Also, please write a short and courteous email to the following people asking Woodland Park Zoo to be removed from the Parks Legacy Plan. It can be as simple as: “Please remove Woodland Park Zoo from the Parks Legacy Plan. The Zoo receives enough tax dollars.”

Carelessly discarded monofilament fishing line is a serious threat to humans and wildlife. When birds and other animals get tangled in it, they risk strangulation, starvation, amputation, and death. Because it’s transparent, monofilament fishing line is also a serious risk to people who swim and dive near it.

SB 6080 would require a pilot program to be implemented for the collection, recovery, and recycling of monofilament fishing line at established fishing areas, boat ramps, and other locations.

Please support SB 6080 by testifying at the hearing in favor of the bill, submitting written testimony to the committee, or both.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. before the Senate Energy, Environment, and Telecommunications Committee. The hearing will be in Senate Hearing Room 4, J.A. Cherberg Building on the state capitol campus in Olympia. (Here are directions and a map of the capitol campus).

How to help:

Attend the hearing and bring others who support this bill with you. Sign in, indicating you support the bill (pro). You don’t have to testify, but you can!

If you testify, please be brief. There are hearings on other bills during that committee meeting and your testimony may be limited to one or two minutes.

Written testimony is welcome. Provide your written testimony the committee staff when you enter the hearing room. Please bring 14 copies of your testimony so there are plenty of copies for committee members and staff.

If you can’t be at the hearing and you’d like to send a brief comment by email, just reference the bill name (concerning a fishing line or monofilament recycling pilot program), the bill number (SB 6080) and your name, address, and affiliation (if any). Send your comments to Adam Day at adam.day@leg.wa.gov. Mr. Day is the legislative assistant for Senator Mark Mullet, the prime sponsor of SB 6080, and he’ll give your comments to members of the Senate Energy, Environment, and Telecommunications Committee. If you’d rather contact each of the committee members directly, you can find their names listed here. You’ll find their email addresses here. Note: Your comments should be submitted by January 21, 2014.

Committee hearings are subject to change. Before attending this hearing, please confirm that its time, date, and location have not been changed. The committee’s hearing schedule is here.

Thanks to Save Washington Pets (Washington Alliance for Humane Legislation) for the info about this bill.

Last year’s Animal Activism 101 workshop was such a hit, we’re doing it again!

If you’re new to activism, this is a great chance to learn about how to pick the right activities for your skills, strengths, and interests and how to actually get started.

If you’ve done some activism, but are new to the scene, we’ll share some tips, tricks, and best practices not only from NARN, but from other activists around the world.

We’ll talk about tabling, leafleting, demonstrations, writing, online activism, corporate campaigning, and using your unique talents and interests in making the world a better place for animals.

We’ll also talk about dealing with stress, the psychology of change, and how to be strategic in planning your activism, and how to deal with people on a personal level.

We want to build a strong community of NW vegans and animal activists. Let’s learn from each other, share what we know, support each other, and most importantly, be as effective as possible for the animals. The animals can’t wait. They need us now. Their future depends on our work!

Please RSVP on Facebook (or email info@narn.org) so we know how many snacks to bring. If you want to bring something to share, please let us know.

This is a FREE event.

“To spend one’s life being angry, and in the process doing nothing to change it, is to me ridiculous. I could be mad all day long, but if I’m not doing a damn thing, what difference does it make?” ― Charles Fuller

As some of you may know, at this very moment, five pods of bottlenose dolphins — 250 individuals — have been driven into The Cove in Taiji and await their fate. They don’t know life as they knew it is over, for all of them. The many juveniles and babies among them include a rare white albino calf who has been clinging to his mother as closely as possible in the panic of the drive hunt. These are his last hours with her.

During the selection process, families are all torn apart as some are taken to spend their lives in miserable captivity, some are hacked to death before the eyes of the others, and some (as in the case of a baby recently) are just driven away to die alone at sea.

I wish I could tell you how to go there and where to climb down to the water and cut nets to pieces. There are lots of things I wish I could tell you. But all I MAY tell you is that you can send your thoughts right to the Japanese Prime Minister Abe with this link:

Are you hopeless sometimes because things feel written in stone and immutable? Look: between all of us, and with Pasado’s, and PETA….these donkeys will NOT be kicked and yanked and hit and shouted at this Saturday. The event has been cancelled, and will not be repeated.

Calendar

January2019

NARN's board of directors meets monthly to discuss our campaigns and administrative issues. Guests are welcome to attend if we have enough time on our agenda.

If you wish to have an agenda item added to the NARN Board Meeting, please email info@narn.org at least a day in advance. You can also send us a message on Facebook anytime or even the day of the meeting and we'll get back to you. All NARN Board Meetings are held in Seattle.

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 3pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by our desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join us in providing free, educational information to the public about the dangers of supporting backyard breeding practices and puppy mills, the importance of spaying and neutering pets, the time and money it takes to responsibly care for a living creature, and the positive effects of screening pet owners through application processes.

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2093159060741059/

Come join us for a delicious brunch at the fabulous Celest Cafe AND write some letters for animals.

NARN provides the stationery, pens, stamps, sample letters, and ideas for what to write -- just bring yourself. You can even bring your laptop if you'd prefer to type or email your letters!

Why letter writing? Letter writing is a simple way to make change for the animals! At our letter writing events, we write for many different reasons: opposition to the creation of new animal laboratories, support for sending animals to sanctuary, promotion of vegan events and issues through letters to the media, and raising the spirits of activists and comrades who have been jailed for their pro-animal and political actions!

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 6pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by their desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join them in providing free, educational information to the public

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/512061562622307/

The University of Washington's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will be meeting to discuss various research protocols (study designs). This is your chance to voice your opinion about the research on animals that goes on at the UW. Please come and speak for the animals!
The meetings are held at the South Campus Center; Room #342 (in between San Juan Road & Columbia Road); behind the Magnuson Health Sciences Center (1925 N.E. Pacific St) )
http://www.washington.edu/maps/

Unfortunately, they frequently re-schedule or cancel their meetings in an attempt to avoid the public, so please call the Public Affairs Office at 206-543-9180 to make sure the meeting is still happening at the given time.
You can also check out their calendar here (copy & paste link into your browser)
http://oaw.washington.edu/iacuc-meeting-schedule/

This month we will be checking out Travelers Thali House. They have tons of vegan options. See their menu here:
http://www.travelersthalihouse.com/Menu102014.html
The Social Discussion Group is a casual event. Drinkers and non-drinkers are welcome, and you don't have to be vegetarian to participate. We hope you'll join us! Questions? Contact rachel[at]narn[dot]org

Join local activists to help educate the public about the dangers of purchasing dogs from places like Puppyland. Puppyland is a new store in Puyallup that sells puppies from breeders.

The demo is until 3pm, but don't feel that you have to be there the entire time. Come for an hour or two to help hand out fliers or hold a sign.

This is a peaceful demonstration, inspired by their desire to speak out against the dangers of allowing businesses like Puppyland to exist in our communities. Join them in providing free, educational information to the public

For updates see the Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/406570843449273/

La Cocina School at El Centro de la Raza will be offering a tasty Vegan Tamales Cooking Class in partnership with the Food Empowerment Project! Now is your chance to learn how to make vegan tamales from a master tamalera! The tamales are prepared in the handmade and traditional fashion using cultural ingredients. Sweet sangrias, beer and wine will also be served and is included in the ticket price.

Class will begin promptly at 10:00 AM in the kitchen at El Centro de la Raza. Classes typically take 2.5 to 3 hours long. All cooking supplies and ingredients will be provided, but please bring your own apron.

The money for the La Cocina School at El Centro de la Raza Latin Cooking Classes go to fund El Centro de la Raza's Senior programs.

For updates on this event see
https://www.facebook.com/events/2404477662895760/